Halloween comes early with biggest horror opening of year; 'The Family' expecting $15 million in three days

The scarer sequel earned $20.1 million on its Friday the 13th bow, $1.5 million of which came from Thursday midnight screenings. Pic reflects the low-cost, high-returns strategy that Jason Blum’s shingle Blumhouse Prods. has perfected, credited for similarly launching the “Paranormal Activity” franchise.

As is typical with horror films, whether or not they open on a Friday the 13th, the “Insidious” sequel should see a significant drop-off Saturday and Sunday, but not so significant as to threaten its very wide lead.

The frame’s other wide opener, Relativity Media’s “The Family,” follows with $5.4 million from Friday and an anticipated $15 million weekend.

The dramedy stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, who are likely powering the gross as a “C” CinemaScore and 32% on Rotten Tomatoes aren’t likely to fuel word of mouth.

Universal’s “Riddick” took third in its soph sesh with $2.2 million from Friday and a weekend projection around $7 million. Lionsgate-Pantelion’s “Instructions Not Included” is down just 16% from last Friday, maintaining fourth with $1.4 million and an expected weekend total just shy of $7 million.